Paint on the Walls
by best with breadsticks
Summary: Oneshot: There really is only one person who could ever capture his nose in an illustration just right.


Author's Note: To make this plain and simple, I went to see "Tangled" on Saturday and fell in love. I never really had a Disney movie couple that I was really fond of, but, goodness, I love these two. I'm not entirely sure this is my best work, but I wanted to break free of "Sonny With a Chance" for a bit, so I decided to give this a try. I'm not too sure if I captured the characterization right, but I gave it my best shot.

Well, I hope it's enjoyable. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own anything "Tangled" related.

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"An entire week in _your_ new castle and _this_ –" he gestured with his right hand to the paint brush clenched in her hand. "-is what you've been doing?"

Rapunzel turned around to see Flynn – or as she preferred to call him – Eugene standing with his arms crossed staring up at her. He raised an eyebrow at her, questioning her with his eyes about the choice of action she had taken ever since moving back into her rightful home.

"Well, the walls were too bare." She turned her attention back to her painting, dipping her paint brush into a forest green paint balancing precariously near the edge of the board she was standing on. "So I decided to spruce them up a bit."

She smiled, taking a sweeping glance around the room before allowing her eyes to fall back on him. "I wanted to capture our journey in paint before it faded away into a memory." Her smiled faltered for a moment, before regaining its near sunshine glow.

Flynn nodded, puckering out his lips in a charming manner as he surveyed the room. "So, am I in any of these?"

She laughed, allowing a full grin to spread across her face. "How could I have left you out, Eugene?"

Without much care, but yet still full of grace, Rapunzel hopped down from her perch, tossing her paintbrush on the floor. She raced over toward him, her bare feet pattering softly against the floor as she did. Grasping the sleeve of his shirt, she led him over in toward the opposite side of the room.

Once he was in position, she let his sleeve go and quickly moved over en route for a red curtain hanging in front of the wall. In one fluid motion, she swung the curtain open revealing a brightly colored image of Flynn's unconscious body falling out of her closet.

He cocked his head at the painting, trying to feel out what meaning it held, but he could find no meaning other than she liked knocking him out and decided to commemorate the event. He stroked his chin, hoping that she'd speak first, so he wouldn't have to question her work.

Rapunzel's attention was so captured by the painting; she neglected to notice his expression.

Her attention swiftly switched from the painting to him in a near instant.

"Do you like it?" A certain glee, only she was capable of, was lacing each word of her question. Her pleasure began to wane as she laid eyes on his expression.

"You don't like it?" She bit her lip, waiting for the inevitable rejection.

"No, no," he reassured her. "It's brilliant. It's a masterpiece. I just –" He paused as he pondered what it is he wanted to say. "I'm just not entirely sure why you chose to paint _that_?" He motioned with his hand to his face pressed against the stone floor of the tower. He had to admit though; he did look quite charming even if he had just been nailed with a frying pan and was lying unconscious.

He continued, abruptly changing his tune. "Not that it's not lovely; it's just not my finest moment…"

Her smile returned. "Well, it may not have been _your_ finest moment, but it was one of mine." She interlaced her fingers together behind her back and stared at the painting, smiling to herself on the inside about the moment she chose to capture.

"It was the moment I knew that I could survive in the outside world," she rotated to face him. "-because I had just captured the most notorious thief in the entire kingdom all by myself." She beamed at him with a chuckle.

"_Captured_ me?" He replied with an eyebrow raise. "I hardly call ambushing someone and tying them up with your hair "capturing" them. It's more of –"He fought to find the words in his mind. "-putting them into an unfavorable predicament."

She unlaced her fingers and gave him a look with her brow completely furrowed as one.

He gave in. "Okay, you captured me."

She laughed, bouncing with joy as she clapped her hands together once.

"So am I allowed to see the rest?" He strolled over to the curtain and pulled it back before she could respond. He could feel a groan playing on his lips as he saw the painting waiting behind the curtain. Did she have nothing else to paint? Did nothing else inspire her?

"You hitting me with a frying pan." He said with a monotone flare; as he pulled the curtain back further to reveal another image.

"You hitting me with a frying pan."

He moved the curtain again.

"Youhitting me with a frying pan – in blue!"

He tugged on the curtain again, shifting it to the side to reveal another similar painting.

"And you hitting me with a frying pan. How original."

He heard her laugh from behind him. Glancing back over his shoulder he could see her blushing with embarrassment. She bit her lip and tried to cover her face with her hands when she took note of his gaze. She giggled from behind her hands.

"Sorry," she spurted out through a chuckled. "I was really proud of myself."

She could feel the blush working its way up onto her cheeks again as she ran her toes over the stone flooring beneath her. There was another reason she was so fond of that moment in the tower. And this reason meant much more to her than silly pride.

It was the first time they met.

The first time they ever stared into each other eyes.

And though he wanted nothing more than to acquire the tiara and leave her, this moment – frying pans and all – was the first moment that fate brought them together. It wasn't a moment that she could merely forget.

"What is it?" He asked, noticing the blush on her cheek and the mischief in her eye.

She shook her head, clearing the blush from her cheeks. She glanced up to meet his gaze with a smiling tugging on her lips. "Nothing, I was just thinking of another painting I want to show you."

She skipped over to him and grabbed a hold of his arm and led away from the wall he was looking at.

"Let me guess," he began, already imaging the scene in his head. "It's you hitting me with a frying pan."

Rapunzel laughed, freeing him from her grasp once he was in the correct location. She rushed over to another curtain hanging on the wall, hiding more paintings she had been working on the past week. She chuckled inwardly as she imagined his reaction to this lovely piece.

In one hasty arm motion, she removed the curtain to reveal one of her more imaginative works.

"No, it's Pascal and Maximus hitting you with a frying pan!" She laughed, watching his expression. "I took a bit of creative licensing with this one."

"I would have never guessed." He smirked. "So any other masterpieces you want to show me?"

"Just one more," she held up her pointer finger and signaling toward the wall she had been working on when he arrived. "It's over there."

He followed her across the room and watched carefully as she took a deep breath in front of the curtain that was concealing an image about to be revealed. A rush of possible images ran through his mind, but only one stuck. He hoped, deep down in his heart, that she had painted that image.

"So," she began. "I've been working on this one for almost two days now. I just hope you like it."

And with that said, she pulled the curtain off of the wall, revealing the one image he hoped for.

The bright yellows and pure whites shown beautifully against the dark, navy sky background, just as the floating lights danced above the blue water. The lanterns almost glittered and glowed on the wall as they did that very night. The soft breeze, carrying the lanterns up toward heaven, was captured beautifully by paint.

Everything was in its place.

Including a small row boat - with two passengers, staring into each other's eye without a care in the world - was sitting still watching the showers of lights floating up from the kingdom.

This was the dream.

She took a step backward to admire the painting from his location.

"Do you like it?" She asked, looking up at him.

"How could I not like it?" He smirked. "You got my nose just right."

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Author's Note: This entire story was based around that final line. Any good?

Thank you for reading. :)


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